Guiding arrangement for a document reproducing machine



Jan. 7, 1936. c. .1. HUGHEY 2,026,976

I GUIDING ARRANGEMENT FOR A DOCUMENT REPRODUCING MACHINE I Filed Feb. 5, 1934 2 sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 7, 1936. c J, HUGHEY 2,026,976

GUIDING ARRANGEMENT FOR A DOCUMENT REPRODUCI-NG MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 7, 1936 PATEN r oFFlca' comma ARRANGEMENT son A nocu- MENT REPRODUCING momma Carter J. Hughey, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to EastmanKodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 3, 1934, Serial No. 709,669 Claims. (01. 271 -71) The present invention relates to a guide means for properly discharging checks or similar documents from a photographic recording machine and more particularly to the provision of a pair of guide members which conduct the documents ,during discharge from the machine into a receiving hopper.

There is a general tendency for checks and other documents of similar dimensions to become curved with the edges bent toward the face of the document. This curvature is also increased by the general practice of placing rubber'bands around a stack of checks. If the checks are so stacked for any appreciable length of time, the curvature is increased and becomes more permanent. Such curvature is not removedfrom the checks even by passage over a drum'which bends the checks to curve in the opposite direction. As a result, when the checks are discharged from a reproducing machine, they exhibit a tendency to turn over during the drop from the document exit to the receiving hopper. The reversal of a check or change in order of the checks is very objectionable and confusing to the operators who must perform subsequent calculations with them. 7 The primary object of the present invention is the provision in a document recording or reproducing machine of a pair of guide members which flex the check during discharge from the machine in such a manner that each subsequent check is properly conducted without inversion to I the receiving hopper or pile of checks.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a pair of guide members for guiding a checkduring discharge from a document handling machine, one guide member being fixed and including a curved or spirally curved edge and the other guide member including a finger which is resiliently pressed against the periphery of a feeding drum todirect the checks against the curved edge of thefixed guide member.

A further object of the invention is theprovision in a, document handling machine of a fixed guide membervhaving a curved edge and a-movable guide member having a finger for directing checks against the curved edge .of the, fixed guide member, said guide members being displaced in a direction along the surface of a feeding drum so that one end of the check is directed sharply down into the receiving hopper.

Still another objector the invention is the provision in a document handling machine of a fixed guide member having a curved edge and a movable guide member including a finger which is I erative position,

resiliently pressed against the feeding drum, which is normally spaced from the feeding drum but which may be moved by a manually operated control means resiliently to press against the periphery of the drum and press documents against the surface of the drum and along the curved edge of the fixed guide member.- I

Other and further objects of the invention will be suggested to those skilled in the art as the description of the invention proceeds hereinafter. The above and other objects of the invention are embodied in the arrangement of a pair of guide members adjacent the exit of a feeding means including a feeding drum, one of said guide members being fixed and provided with a curved or spirally curved edge and the other of said guide members including a finger which is resiliently pressed against the. periphery ofthe feeding drum and which directs documents against the curved edge of the fixed-guide member. A manually operated control means may be associated with the movable guide member for rendering the same operative or inoperative at will. 7

Reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters designate similar elements and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section through a document handling machine which is equipped 1 with a pair of guide members'according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through a document handling machine similar to Fig. 1 but showing the movable guide member in inop- Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the feeding drum and guide members as viewed from the left side of Fi 1. 1

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the document handling machine is enclosed 2, is provided at the juncture of feeding board I! plurality of circumferential grooves IS. A plurality of wires 20 are attached at one end to a rod 2| and at the other-end to a rod 22. The wires 20 make contact with a portion of the periphery of feeding drum l1 and function to hold the documents evenly against the surface of feeding drum H.

A check straightening device is provided at the entrance to the feeding means composed of the feeding drum I1 and plurality of wires 20 and may consist of a roller 23 mounted on a shaft 24. A document control member for :operating the camera drive, not shown, includes a plate 25 which has a plurality of lugs 26 adapted to ex: tend. into the grooves is of drum l1 and which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 2'1.

An auxiliary feeding hopper includes the opening l4 between feeding board l2 and vertical wall I3 and the guideway l5 which is inclined from the feeding board l2 to a point adjacent the feeding drum H.

A cover member is movably mounted on the housing ID of the machine and is adapted in closed position to cover the opening IE, but in open position permits the introduction of comparatively long documents, such as letters, into the opening and along the guideway it to the periphery of feeding drum H. The cover member is composed of a cover 28 which has a side plate 29 attached thereto. The side plate 29 is rotatably mounted on the housing l0 by means of a pivot 30 and carries'a projection or abutment 3!, preferably turned out of the stock of side plate 29.

The cover 28 is angular in formation and has a portion 32 which is adapted in closed position of the cover member to fit into recess l6 and lie flush with the horizontal surface of feeding board l2. The cover member has another portion 33 which is preferably at right angles to the portion 32 and which is adapted in closed position of the cover to lie flush with the vertical wall if; of the housing l0; In other words the cover member is so constructed that in closed position said cover member closes the opening it and has portions which are flush with the horizontal surface of the feeding board I2 and the vertical surface of the wall l3, but which in open position permits access to the opening 14, guideway I5,

, and feeding drum- 11.

A holding means for the cover member may comprise a leaf spring 56 which is fastened to the housing If]. The free end of spring 58 will engage the rear edge of side plate 28 resiliently to maintain the cover member in closed position as shown in Fig. 1 and will engage the diagonal edge 29 of side plate 29 resiliently to hold the cover member in open position as shown in Fig. 2.

A guide member 34 is connected to the cover member and is adapted in open position of the cover member to lie upon the periphery of drum I1 and in closed position of the cover member to be spaced from the periphery of drum IT. The guide member 34 is pivotally mounted on -a rod 35 which extends from side plate 29 and has an arcuate portion 34' which is concentric with the drum l1 and which extends lengthwise of the drum.

When the cover member is in open position, as shown in Fig. 2, the arcuate portion 34 of the guide member 34 lies or rests upon the periphery of drum I! so that long documents, such as letters, are evenly held against the surface of the drum while being fed over the feeding board l2 and guideway l5. When the cover member is moved to closed position with its portions 32 and 33 fiush with feeding board l2 and vertical wall i3, respectively, the abutment 3| on side plate 29 engages the gate member 34 and swings the same away from the periphery of drum II. This position of the guide member 34 is illustrated in Fig. 1.

The feeding means of the machine discharges the documents into a receiving hopper 3B. The receiving hopper 36 is adjustable to vary its size and its elevation. The hopper 36 is pivotaliy connected to the machine by a link 31 and has an inclined bottom 38 which has a plurality of dependent teeth 39. The front wall 40 of the housing [0 is provided with a plurality of slots 5|. It isevident that the distance between the front wall 4|] of the housing and the front wall of the hopper 35 may be varied by moving the inclined bottom 38 so that other teeth 39 engage the edges of the slot 4| and front wall 40. Furthermore, the elevation of hopper 36 maybevariedbyswinging said hopper 36 so that the inclined bottom 38 is removed from one of the slots 4! and re-inserted into a higher or lower slot 4|.

The wires 20 extend tangentially from the surface of drum H to the rod.22 and form an exit for the feeding means. If the documents have a curvature similar to that existing inth'e check 42 in'the main feedinghopper l I, there wiilbe atendency for the checks to be inverted during pas- 3 sage from the exit of the feeding means to the bottom of the hopper. In other words, curved checks as discharged from the feeding means exit may turn over during their fall to the bottom of the hopper and come to rest with the face of the checks upward. If this inversion of the check was regular, it would not be so objectionable, but would still be undesirable since the checks would be piled in reverse order from that in which they entered the machine. The difficulty overcome by the guide means of the invention has now been stated.

The guide means of the invention accomplish the movement of checks from the exit of the feeding means to the receiving hopper 36 in proper position and in proper order. Such guide means are composed of a fixed guide member and a movable guide member.

The fixed guide member 43 is located adjacent the exit of the feeding means and is preferably 0 fastened along its upper edge to the lower portion of the feeding board l2. The fixed guide member 43 has a fin-like shape and has a curved lower edge which extends from the surface of drum l1 toward the interior of receiving hopper 36. Guide member 43 includes a pointed portion 44 which is bent out of the plane thereof and has a finger 45 which extends into the peripheral grooves IQ of the drum H. The aforementioned curved edge of the fixed guide member 43 extends from the periphery of drum #7 at first tangentially along the lower edge of finger 45 and then is curved downwardly away from drum l1 and along the lower edge of pointed portion 44. Owing to the fact that pointed portion 44 is bent 65 out of the plane of guide member 43, it may be correctly stated that the curved edge is spirally curved.

The remainder of the guide means is composed of a movable guide member. Such a movable guide member is constituted principally by a finger 46 which is resiliently pressed against the periphery of drum IT. The finger 45 is pivotally mounted on a cross-rod 41 and a coil spring 48 encircles rod 41 with one end 48' extending along finger .46 and with the other end 43f extending I downwardly.

, tends to the exterior of the machine.

A control means for the movable guide member includes a shaft 49 which is rotatably mounted within housing It. An arm 50 is fastened to shaft 49 and is adapted to engage the end 48" of coil spring 48 to move the finger 45 against the surface of drum ll, arm 50 being provided with a notch 50' which engages the spring end 48". A crank 5i is also fastened to shaft 49 and is connected by a pivot 52 to an operating lever 53 which ex- The operating lever 53 is provided with a U-shaped slot 54 which is adapted toengage a pin 55 on the housing It).

The movable guide member is normally in inoperative position which is illustrated in Fig. 2.

The movable guide member serves no useful purpose in conducting long letters through the feed ing means and consequently is used alternatively and not simultaneously with the auxiliary feeding hopper adjacent the feeding board i2. When it is desired to run checks, and especially checks with an appreciable curvature, through the feeding means of the machine, then the operating lever 53 is raised, pressed inwardly, and then pressed downwardly, so that the other leg of U-shaped slot 54 now engages the pin 55 according to the illustration of Fig. 1. At the same time the crank 5| and arm 50 are rotated in a clockwise direction. The arm 50 bends the end 46' of coil spring 48 to swing the resilient finger 46 against the periphery of drum II. It should be noted that the finger 46 is resilient in itself and is: resiliently held against the peripheryof drum ll by the coil spring. 48. The movable guide member is now in operative position and directs the check to the curved edge of the fixed guide member 43 for proper deposit of the checks in the hopper 36.

Referring to- Fig. 3, it will be noted that the finger 461s displaced from the finger 45 and major portion of guide member 43 in a direction along or axially of the drum 11. Furthermore, the curvature of pointed portion 44 in bending out of, the plane of fixed guide member 43 is in a direction toward the finger 46.

The. two guide members of the invention unquestionably function to conduct the checks into the receiving hopper 36 without permitting a change in order or inversion of any check. It

cannot definitely be stated, however, whether this proper deposition of the checks is the result of reverse bending to remove the arcuate state of the checks and caused by guiding the checks along the curved edge; or whether it is the result of causing one end of the check to droop sharply and lay against the stack of checks before the entire check has left the finger of the movable guide member. It may be that these effects function simultaneously in the proper discharge of the checks to the hopper.

I I. The finger 46 tends to direct the check farther around the periphery of drum i1, butthe finger 46, which extends into peripheral grooves l9, causes the check to be moved along its lower edge and, in fact, to move in a path tangential to the periphery of drum II. The curved edge of displaced from said movable guide member.

guide member 43 will turn the front edge of the check downwardly. One end of the check, see Fig. 3, will droop quite sharply, both as a result of the curved edge of the fixed guide member 43 and as a result of the fact that this end of the 5 check is not supported. The curvature of pointed portion 44 in a direction toward the resilient finger 46 will'cause this sagging end of the check to be bent downwardly more sharply as the check is ejected from the exit of the feeding means. The most desirable results are obtained when the lower end of the check rests upon the check pile before the rear edge of a check has moved past I tion what I desire, to secure by Letters Patentof 25 the United States and what I'claim is:

1. In a machine for handling documents, the combination with a feeding means having an exit and including a drum for moving documents, of a fixed guide member located adjacent to the 30 exit of said feeding means and having a curved edge which extends spirally from said drum, and a movable guide member adapted resiliently to press against the periphery of said drum and for directing a document, which is leaving said feeding means, into contact with said curved edge of the fixed guide member, said guide members being displaced along said drum with the spirally curved edge of said fixed guide member being variably 2. In a machine for handling documents, the

.combination with a feeding means having an exit and including a drum fol-moving documents, of a fixed guide member located adjacent to the exit of said feeding means and having a curved edge to form a pointed portion which is bent out of the plane of the fixed guide member, and a resilient guide member adapted resiliently to press against the periphery of said drum and for directing a document, which is leaving said feed- 50 ing means, into contact with said curved edge of the fixed guide member, the curved edge of said pointed portion being differentially displaced with respect to said resilient guide member and in an axial direction of said drum.

3. In a machine for handling documents, th combination with a feeding means having an exit and including a drum for moving documents, of

' a fixed guide member located adjacent to the exit of said feeding means and having a curved edgeto form a pointed portion which is bent out of the plane of said fixed guide member, and a resilient guide member adapted resiliently to press against the periphery of said drum and for directing a document, which is leaving said feeding means, into contact with said curvededge of the fixed guide member, said guide members be-, ing variably displaced along said drum and said pointed portion .of the fixed guide member being bent toward said resilient guide member.

4. In a machine for handling documents, the combination with a feeding means having an exit and including a drum for moving documents and which is' provided with a plurality of circumferential grooves, of a fixed guide member having a stationary finger which extends into one oi! said circumferential grooves and having a curved edge which extends spirally from the periphery of said drum, and a movable guide member adapted resiliently to press against the periphery a control means including an arm for moving said finger and including an operating lever which extends to the exterior oi. the machine for manual operation of the control means.

6. In a machine for handling documents, the v combination with a feeding means having an exit and including a feeding drum for moving documents, of a finger pivotally mounted in spaced relation to said drum, a control means including an arm for moving said finger and including an operating lever, and a resilient means between said arm and said finger for resiliently pressing said finger against the periphery of said drum beyond the exit of said feeding means.

7. In a machine for handling documents, the combination with a feeding means having an exit and including a feeding drum for moving documents, of a resilient finger pivotally mounted in spaced relation to said drum and movable into contact therewith for holding a document against the periphery of the drum beyond said exit, a control means including an arm for moving said finger and including an operating lever extending to the exterior of the machine, and a coil spring with one end engaging said arm and the other end engaging said finger for resiliently pressing said finger against the periphery of said 20 drum beyond said exit.

CARTER J. HUGHEY. 

